Click here for Part 1: The Problem
Click here for Part 2: The History of the Problem
Understanding the Problem Biblically
The place to start when trying to understand the Problem Biblically is with the question of idolatry. Idolatry is most specifically and plainly laid out for us in the Ten Commandments. Exodus 20:2-5a says, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God…” So in its most basic form, idolatry is worshiping another god or something in the form of something created. What is the basis for God’s ability to make these commands? He has rescued the people out of Egyptian slavery. God has moved on the part of the people, therefore they are to worship only him. We see this understanding of idolatry reflected a few chapters later in Exodus 32, with the story of the golden calf. In the story, Moses is on the mountain with God so long that the people start to wonder what happened. They go to Aaron and have him make them an idol in the shape of a golden calf, even going so far as to say to each other, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” (Exodus 32:4) The people had decided to take God out of the equation and replace him with something else—in this case, a statue of a golden calf.
We see another aspect of idolatry when we look at the dictionary definition of the word. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary has two definitions for idolatry. Continue reading →